This weblog discusses the finer points of videogame character costumes.
Philosophy and rules:
1) The ideal costume looks cool, but also has a soul.
2) Overall aesthetics of the game also come into play.
3) A great costume can make a good game great or a bad game warrant a rental.
4) Unlockable outfits must be worth the trouble of obtaining it and playing through the game multiple times.
5) Cosplay is now in the mix!

Monday, November 28, 2005

I recently picked up the from a local EB. Wow. I was eyeing a huge Japanese Biohazard book a little while ago that collected everything you could ever want to know about Resident Evil, but it was very expensive ($40+, even more since I would have to import it).

To my surprise, Brady Games went and translated the whole damn thing so I had to get it. Resident Evil Archives is a very reasonable $30 and it’s massive. The title should really be the Umbrella archives since it only covers RE material related to that storyline. That means no RE4. Still, almost everything else is in there and all really good stuff.

And of course, lots of great views of the character costumes. Even all the art from the scrapped RE 1.5. Sweet.

Makes quite a nice gift. I should have thought of that before I bought it. Could have gotten it from Santa.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

I’m still playing Beat Down off and on. I decided to try and unlock the special clothes items you get by completing the game with certain requirements. I really, really wish it didn’t load so damn much, but it hasn’t stopped me from playing.

Beat Down recently saw a major price reduction to $20 at most outlets. At that price, you should definitely give it a chance. I mean, it’s the #3 selling game in Japan! Can you believe it? And they are paying 7140 yen, which is roughly $60 U.S. dollars.

Media Alert!My two blogs have reached 100,000 in just under a year. Much better than I would have ever predicted.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Maybe I’ve built up the Soul Calibur III experience in my head, so there’s bound to be a let down of sorts. The game is definitely great and I’m fairly satisfied with the costume elements of it. I guess the graphics Czar in me can’t help but be let down by the muted colors and so-so progressive scan quality. Tekken 5 had amazing 480p output, so I was a bit surprised this technological know-how was not shared between teams.

Why does that matter to a costume-centric blog? For one thing, you can’t see the details in the outfits as well as you can in the Xbox version of Soul Calibur II. That also had rather muted colors, but the sharp rendering showed off every little nuance.

I’m still having a good time with the game, especially since there are folks actively playing in the office. The two player action is, in my opinion, much improved from part two.

My vote for most improved outfit is for Sophitia. It’s odd that the top of her toga is see-through (revealing her cool armor bra), but the lower half is not. It would be very distracting if it were, and I’m not saying it should have been. Just thinking that the cloth must be magical or something.

I’m still unlocking the massive amount of costume options for the Create-a-character, so look for a future update with lots more screens. Shortly after the current onslaught of work I’m plowing through at the office.

On a side note, I’m quite surprised by the latest trailer of Rumble Roses XX that hit the web recently. Mostly by Bloody Shadow’s new costume, which is um…very revealing. The small pic above is from the official site since I haven’t managed to take a screen from the movie itself. Just search around for it on the major sites and you’ll find it. Only the newest footage has Bloody Shadow so you can’t miss it.